Having the ROI conversation before it’s too late.
As a marketing firm, we’re often asked to demonstrate ROI. And we should be. Our clients need to know that their marketing dollars are having a positive impact. But showing a clear return on investment is a team effort—a nimble dance between agency and client. Unfortunately, the ROI conversation often occurs way too late in […]
Industry change drives training.
The exponential rate of change in today’s world is reflected in the kitchen and bath industry. Products, especially, are becoming more complex.
In 2018, Ten Pound Hammer took on the project of asking dealers in the custom kitchen and bath industry about the issue of training to determine dealer attitudes toward training and their most important training issues.
How to do training that actually works (and creates revenue).
Over and over, dealers in the kitchen & bath industry express the need for quality training materials. Similar to a sales-and-marketing mindset, training materials must be engaging. And no matter what format they were commenting about, dealers agree that boring, confusing, or incomplete material is not helpful and therefore altogether unnecessary. Moreover, outdated materials created […]
Five things to know before creating your new training program.
Training helps professionals become better communicators, more effective managers, or more profitable salespeople. Training is the connection between your people, your products, and your customers that ensures a return on time and financial investment. Training is marketing. It is an extension of your brand. And it is critical to your success.
Training means revenue for brands.
Training helps professionals become better communicators, more effective managers, or more profitable salespeople. Training ensures a return on time and financial investment as it links your people, your products, and your customers together.
Think outside the slide. Or confessions of a reluctant PowerPoint addict.
PowerPoint: The go-to presentation format, projected in conference rooms everywhere. You know it. You use it. You hate it. It’s a fascinating paradox of corporate America. Among the few things we can agree on—within a team, department or organization, there is a universal loathing of PowerPoint. Yet, when asked to put together a presentation, we […]
Product training: The critical job that (almost) nobody is doing.
We produce a fair amount of technical work that’s used by our clients to inform dealers how to sell, install, and maintain all kinds of products. But even with pieces written and designed to communicate the right information in an engaging way, it doesn’t mean the brand can sit back and watch the sales roll […]
You should sound as good as you look. Brand voice matters.
Think back to years ago (or maybe just days) when you were going out to meet some friends, and maybe make some new ones. You check yourself out in the mirror. No stains on your shirt. Your fly is zipped. No spinach in your teeth. You look good. There you are, talking with your friends […]
Sales is a Tough Job. Strong Marketing Makes it Easier.
I was at an event recently. The professional kind with a buffet line and well-dressed people balancing small plates of food while maintaining a white-knuckle grip on a cocktail. The topic of marketing came up, mainly because I’m a marketing guy and I started it. Then I hear this: “Sales and marketing are the same […]
The death of branding and other myths.
Brands don’t matter. At least that’s the word these days. Marketers have been trying to sell the power of branding for years, and it’s always been an uphill struggle. In this supposedly post-brand world it’s gotten even harder to convince marketing decision makers that there’s benefit to brand building. A Post-Brand World? For the moment, […]
Product launches? Actually, they really are a lot like rocket science.
There’s a saying that most products launch like a rocket and drop like a rock. The comparison of product launches to rocket science, well, it’s kind of a no brainer. You’ve got the hours upon hours of research and hard work. The passion and anticipation, with equal doses of hand wringing and worrying. All the […]
Is your tradeshow marketing delivering ROI?
Let’s face it, tradeshows are expensive. In many cases, the total cost of participation can rival an entire year’s advertising spend online or in an industry trade publication. And just like branding campaigns, tradeshows are a long-term investment, where sales cycles can draw out for weeks, months, even years. So how do you know if your tradeshow participation was worth it? There’s a simple answer: Measure, measure, measure. Before you tune out, read on just a bit more. You don’t have to be a mathematical modeling wizard to assess ROI, and we can help.
